WD97: Frequently Asked Questions About "Allow Fast Saves" (192480)

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1. Q: What is the difference between a fast saved file and a full saved file?
   
   A: A fast saved file is a Word document in which the physical order of characters stored in the file does not match the logical order of characters in the document that the file represents. In other words, changes to the file are appended to the end of the file.
   
   A full saved file is a Word document in which the physical order of characters stored in the file is identical to the logical order of characters in the document that the file represents. In other words, changes to the file are incorporated into the contents of the file in the specific location where the change was made.
2. Q: When will Word perform a fast save?
   
   A: When the Allow Fast Saves option is selected, Word may perform a fast save when you save changes to your document. When you click Save (or on the File menu, click Save), Word may perform a fast save or a full save of your document.
3. Q: When will Word perform a full save?
   
   A: Word will perform a full save of a document when any of the following events occur:
   • On the fifteenth (15th) fast save of a document. Word will normally perform fourteen (14) fast save operations before it performs a full save.

     -or-

   • When you click Save and there are many edits performed in the document.
     
     NOTE: There is no way to determine or change the number of edits in a document. As changes are appended to the end of the physical document file, it will reach a point where the physical document needs to be re-written so that once again the changes to the file can be incorporated back into the contents of the file in the specific location where the changes were made.

     -or-

   • When you click Save and the Allow Fast Saves option is disabled (turned off).

     -or-

   • When you save the document in another format such as Rich Text Format (RTF).
4. Q: Why should I let Word do a fast save?
   
   A: If you select the Allow Fast Saves option, Word saves only the changes to the document. The Allow Fast Save option takes less time to than a full save of the document. When you are working on a very large document, you may want to select the Allow Fast Saves option.
5. Q: When should I not use the Allow Fast Saves option?
   
   A: If you are going to be sharing a document containing sensitive information that has been deleted. You should "force" Word to do a full save of your document. To "force" Word to do a full save, turn the Allow Fast Saves option off, and then click Save.
   
   For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   190733 WD97: Opening Word Document in Text Editor Displays Deleted Text

6. Q: When I am working on a document from a network location, why does Word seem to take the same amount of time to save the document, regardless of how I have the Allow Fast Saves option set?
   
   A: This functionality is by design. Fast saves cannot be performed over a network. If the Allow Fast Saves option is turned on, Word will ignore this option when you save a document over a network.
7. Q: How do I change the setting of the Allow Fast Saves option?
   
   A: On the Tools menu, click Options. Then, on the Save tab, click to select or clear the Allow Fast Saves check box, and then click OK.
   
   NOTE: The Allow Fast Saves option is selected (turned on) by default in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows; however, this option is disabled (turned off) by default in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows, Service Release 1 (SR-1) and Service Release 2 (SR-2).
8. Q: When I select the "Always create backup copy" option, why is the Allow Fast Saves option turned off?
   
   A: A backup copy of a document cannot be saved (created) when Word fast saves a document. When you click to select the "Always create backup copy" option, Word automatically disables (turns off) the Allow Fast Saves option. Consequently, when you select Allow Fast Saves, Word will automatically disable the "Always create backup copy" if it is selected.
9. Q: What is the "Allow background saves" option?
   
   A: This option saves documents in the background, so you can continue working in Word while you save (full save or fast save) a document. A pulsing disk icon appears in the status bar when Word is performing either a full save or a fast save in the background.
   
   NOTE: The Allow Background Saves option is selected (turned on) by default in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows, Service Release 1 (SR-1) and Service Release 2 (SR-2); however, this option is disabled (turned off) by default in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows.